Complex protein molecules found only in heart muscle. Cardiac enzymes are taken by blood sample to determine the amount of the heart disease or damage.

cardiac enzymes

A laboratory test to measure the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

serum lipoprotein level

Process of taking an X-ray of blood or lymphatic vessels after injection of a radiopaque substance.

angiography

Patient is given radioactive thallium intravenously and then scanning equipment is used to visualize the heart; it is especially useful in determining myocardial damage.

cardiac scan

Measurement of sound-wave echoes as they bounce off tissues and organs to produce an image. Can assist in determining heart and blood vessel damage.

Doppler ultrasonography

Record of the electrical activity of the heart. Useful in the diagnosis of abnormal cardiac rhythm and heart muscle (myocardium) damage.

electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG)

Process of taking an X-ray tracing of a vein

venography

Passage of a thin tube (catheter) through an arm vein and the blood vessel leading into the heart. Done to detect abnormalities, to collect cardiac blood samples, and to determine the pressure within the cardiac area.

cardiac catheterization

Noninvasive diagnostic method using ultrasound to visualize internal cardiac structures; cardiac valve activity can be evaluated using this method.

echocardiography

Portable ECG monitor worn by the patient for a period of a few hours to a few days to assess the heart and pulse activity as the person goes through the activities of daily living.

Holter monitor

method for evaluating cardiovascular fitness. pt is placed on a treadmill or bike & then subjected to steadily increasing levels of work. an EKG and oxygen levels are taken while the pt exercises. this test is stopped if abnormalities occur on the EKG.

stress testing

aka exercise test or treadmill test

Emergency treatment provided by persons trained in CPR and given to patients when their repirations and heart stop. CPR provides oxygen to the brain, heart, and other vital organs until medical treatment can restore a normal heart and pulmonary function.

cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

A procedure that converts serious irregular heartbeats, such as fibrillation, by giving electric shocks to the heart.

defibrillation

During open heart surgery, the routing of blood to a heart-lung machine so it an be oxygenated and pumped to the rest of the body.

extracorporeal circulation (ECC)

A device implanted in the heart that delivers an electrical shock to restore a normal heart rhythm. Particularly useful for persons who experience ventricular fibrillation.

implantable cardioverter-defribllator

Electrical device that substitutes for the natural pacemaker of the heart. It controls the beating of the heart by a series of rhythmic electrical impulses. An external pacemaker has the electrodes on the outside of the body; an internal pacemaker has the electrodes surgically implanted within the chest wall.

pacemaker implantation

Drugs, such as streptokinase or tissue-type plasminogen activator, are injected into a blood vessel to dissolve clots and restore blood flow.

thrombolytic therapy

Surgical removal of the sac of an aneurysm

aneurysmectomy

Surgical joining together of two arteries; performed if an artery is severed or if a damaged section of an artery is removed.

arterial anastomosis

Open-heart surgery in which a blood vessel is grafted to route blood around the point of constriction in a diseased coronary artery.

coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)

Surgical removal of an embolus or clot from a blood vessel.

embolectomy

Removal of the inside layer of an artery.

endarterectomy

Replacement of a diseased or malfunctioning heart with a donor's heart.

heart transplantation

Placing a stent within a coronary artery to treat coronary ischemia due to atherosclerosis.

intracoronary artery stent

Surgical treatment for varicose veins; the damaged vein is tied off (ligation) and removed (stripping).

ligation and stripping

Method for treating localized coronary artery narrowing. A balloon catheter is inserted through the skin into the coronary artery and inflated to dilate the narrow blood vessel.